Hard to see it working out, even if he is as good a manager as his time at Porto suggests (and not as poor as his time at Chelsea suggests) he'll probably have to sell a lot of his best players and once again end up at a top-six team with top-four expectations. Plus the media aren't keen so it won't take too many poor results to make his position untenable.

Originally Posted by indiaholic

Ireland on the other hand are everything that is good and just and beautiful in this world.

"The PFA does not represent players when they have broken the law and been convicted on non-football matters."- Gordon Taylor in 2009 following Marlon King's release after a prison sentence for sexual assault & ABH

Gutting news really, but what can you do? Been a huge asset to Arsenal over the last 12 months, but he's basically had one good season and seems to think he's now a megastar. Hope Arsenal don't waste any time getting shot of him and trying to find a replacement.

"All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher." - Ambrose Bierce

Langeveldt: I of course blame their parents.. and unchecked immigration!GingerFurball: He's Austrian, they tend to produce the odd ****ed up individualBurgey: Be careful dealing with neighbours whose cars don't have wheels but whose houses do.Uppercut: Maybe I just need better strippers

Gutting news really, but what can you do? Been a huge asset to Arsenal over the last 12 months, but he's basically had one good season and seems to think he's now a megastar. Hope Arsenal don't waste any time getting shot of him and trying to find a replacement.

Only started 117 games in the 7 years previously apparently. Sell him abroad and get a decent replacement, you may not be such a one man team with Giruoud, Podolski and the Ox coming through.

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.Walt Whitman

Nice to see Paul Merson chiming in to say he's made the wrong call. Where other than football would you get people criticising the career choices of someone they've never met and know next to nothing about?

Agree with grecian ftr. Plenty of fools running football clubs, should be easy to sell him for a value that doesn't take his injury record into account.

Nice to see Paul Merson chiming in to say he's made the wrong call. Where other than football would you get people criticising the career choices of someone they've never met and know next to nothing about?

Agree with grecian ftr. Plenty of fools running football clubs, should be easy to sell him for a value that doesn't take his injury record into account.

Him leaving is obviously very disappointing, but if he wants to go, he wants to go, and I'm not really bothered by whatever his motivations might be. He can make whatever decision he wants, it's fair enough, and all good things come to an end.

What gets my goat, however, is the way he's allowed this to be drawn out until the point where clubs are nearly back in pre-season training. It seems his mind has been made up all along, and to wait till now to reveal he wants out is pretty poor form. Granted, it's a big decision for him to have made, but there are more interests than just his at stake here. Of course, now that he's made this decision we've also been treated to the usual saccharine speech about how he loves the club, and loves the fans and so on, but if this were true, you'd have at least thought he'd have had the decency to not leave them hanging.

I suppose not, but asking one of them to take on the role of chief forward is going to be a big ask. Especially when you consider there are already question marks over Podolski's ability to handle pressure away from Köln and Giroud is a fairly unknown commodity.

Him leaving is obviously very disappointing, but if he wants to go, he wants to go, and I'm not really bothered by whatever his motivations might be. He can make whatever decision he wants, it's fair enough, and all good things come to an end.

What gets my goat, however, is the way he's allowed this to be drawn out until the point where clubs are nearly back in pre-season training. It seems his mind has been made up all along, and to wait till now to reveal he wants out is pretty poor form. Granted, it's a big decision for him to have made, but there are more interests than just his at stake here. Of course, now that he's made this decision we've also been treated to the usual saccharine speech about how he loves the club, and loves the fans and so on, but if this were true, you'd have at least thought he'd have had the decency to not leave them hanging.

What makes you think his mind had been made up all along? Don't see any reason why he wouldn't have said so earlier if that was the case. And in any case, it would have been disruptive to mention it during the season and it's perfectly reasonable to want to concentrate on football until the end of the Euros. Arsenal's transfer activity suggests that those in the club already knew the ins and outs of the situation, it's not a problem just because he didn't make an announcement to the press sooner.

If he'd done it mid-season I reckon the fans would be even angrier. It's like ending a relationship- however you do it, the other half will find fault with how you did it.